苦味と甘い
by Biter Raygun
Summary: When my mother died, she told me this boy, Kyouya, would take care of me in her place. Kyouya himself promised that he would always play with me. To others, he is cold and bitter. The others, however, don't know him as I do.
1. Pinky Promise

So, yeah. This is a remake of Nigami to Amai. It didn't get a lot of hits when it first started out, and I wanted to remake it into a real story, rather than simple drabble instalments. So, yeah, enjoy.

* * *

**God promises a safe landing, not a calm passage.**

_**-Proverb**_

**Chapter 1: Pinky Promise**

* * *

"Tomoe-chan, this is Kyouya-kun. You two will be playing together from now on okay? Please take good care of her Kyouya-kun." I held onto the bed sheets, trying and failing miserably to climb up on the bed where my sickly mother was laying. The boy behind me only nodded, shuffling his feet uncomfortably on the linoleum. He made a noise, something between a cough and a grunt, to show he had heard her, despite how quiet she was.

I pouted, looking away from the strange boy to stare up at my mother. "But mommy, I want to play with you today. You promised." My mother had only promised that she would play with me when she got better. I wasn't aware that 'better' meant something entirely different in her mind.

She smiled, pale chapped lips flaking in the process. "I'm sorry sweetie... but I won't be able to play with you anymore... but that's what Kyouya-kun is here for. He's going to play with you when I can't, okay?" Being the ignorant toddler I was, I kicked the tile of the hospital floor and pouted. "Now now, don't be that way sweetie... I can't play with you here... but if you put a picture of me under your pillow at night, I'll play with you in your dreams. Okay?"

I suddenly found the energy to smile. I grinned up at her, bouncing up and down on my toes.

"Really, Mommy?"

Her weak smile still haunts me to this day.

"Of course."

* * *

I didn't realize that I would never play with my mother again until Mrs. Hibari took Kyouya and I to her funeral just four days later. The sound of mourning cries, the smell of incense, it all took all of my other senses away, numbing me. My fingers were red and cold. Mrs. Hibari held them tightly, her cold hands proving to be a lost cause as she attempted to warm them. I wasn't aware that her son, who already stood a good two inches over me, was staring down at me.

I remember seeing the woman who was supposed to be my mother, looking nothing like her at all. My mother was bright and smiling, and had an energy about her that burned like the sun itself. She never wore make up, she didn't have to, and she never sat still for this long.

It wasn't until they closed her coffin, that I realized what was happening.

I turned to the boy, Kyouya, and asked him what they were doing with mommy. His cheeks, red with embarrassment and wind burn, were dark as he averted his gaze. Who would have thought that at that age he would have been shy.

"They're gonna burry her."

My throat burned with longing. Longing for my mother, for the summertime when she would take me to the park and push me on the swings, for her strong and healthy embrace. All I could ask was, "But why? Mommy said she was gonna play with me. She still hasn't played with me yet, Kyouya."

His unblinking sapphire orbs watched me carefully, his hand twitching by his side. "Um… you're not crying…" I was aware that I wasn't. I could only stare at the coffin in terror. He exhaled, reading into my silence. "Oh."

"I want to play with Mommy, Kyouya." It seemed, with some internal debate, He turned to me and patted my head. My eyebrows knit upward, lip trembling.

"You can't. She's an angel now."

Everything seemed to fall silent, then. The sound of melting snow falling off of the barren sakura trees and the sound of the first birds of spring all quieting as if in agreement with his words. Feeling an emergence to hear the theory of his words, I grabbed his arm, tugging his down so that he was eye level with me. I shifted my gaze to the soggy earth before looking back up at him with unsure eyes.

"An angel?"

He turned his head to the coffin, his face half hidden by his navy colored scarf. I followed suit. "Yeah. It's like she said. She can't play with you here, so she'll play in your dreams. Angels can do that. And even though you can't see her, she'll be watching you from up in heaven. Like my Mom's mom and Dad."

I relaxed my grip on his arm, but he remained in his position. "Do you mean that? Mommy's really up there?" He nodded, gaze falling to the ground now. I looked down again. "But... I'll be lonely... No one is going to play with me, and cheer me up when I'm sad, or tuck me in for bed..."

He clicked his tongue and glared at me. "Aren't I cheering you up now, stupid? Besides, Kaede-san said I was gonna play with you, so stop being stupid..." I looked up at him and scanned his face to see if he meant it. His hard expression changed so drastically into embarrassment that I almost laughed.

"Pinky promise…?"

I held out a chubby pinky for him to take. He glared at it before looking away. "Yeah, whatever."

"No! You have to take my pinky, Kyouya!"

He exhaled sharply before whipping around and entwining his pinky with mine. "Happy?" His hands were cold. I took my hands and overlapped them on his, nodding vigorously as I breathed hot air on them. "Yes!"

For the first time in the last few days, he smiled softly, putting his other hand over mine and touching foreheads carefully. "Stupid."


	2. Relocation

**Any change, any loss, does not make us victims. Others can shake you, surprise you, disappoint you, but they can't prevent you from acting, from taking the situation you're presented with and moving on. No matter where you are in life, no matter what your situation, you can always do something. You always have a choice and the choice can be power. **  
**-_Blaine Lee, The Power Principle_**

**Chapter 2: Relocation**

* * *

Kyouya's parents had adopted me a few days before my mother's death, a last request of hers. Kyouya's father was never home, always taking late hours at his office to finish up paperwork. Kyouya's mother had taken a vacation to get me settled in before she herself went back to her 24/7 work schedule. Between Namimori's chairman and a stock broker, it was a wonder how they even found the time to have a child.

"Now, we have a vast staff of nannies who take care of Kyouya in our house. They care for him when Mr. Hibari or myself are away from home. I trust them with my life, and I trust that they will keep you safe." I giggled in delight as she patted my head. "Don't hesitate to ask them for anything. While you're here, you can have anything your heart desires, okay, Tomoe? Of course, mind that the same goes for Kyouya, seeing as we are hardly home. Just try not to butt heads with him."

I nodded, looking around the simply, yet elegantly decorated feudal home. It was hidden away from the rest of the block by an endless chain of Japanese maples that were just budding in the early spring. The house itself took up an entire block, with little yard left in its wake. It was easy to get lost in as a child. When I grew older, however, I knew the place like the back of my hand.

Speaking of which, it was at that moment that Kyouya seized my hand, nearly causing me to lose my footing as he practically drug me down the hall. "Mom, I'm gonna show her the garden," He stated plainly, his grip growing firmer. I barely heard her crow about watching out for someone named Ms. Chiyo as he spun around a corner.

"Sakura, you'd like them. They're a lot like you." I was a bit confused by his words, wondering if he was calling me Sakura, or if he were referring to the tree blossoms.

"Oh! My name is Sakuranuma, not Sakura. That's my last name. My real name is Tomoe. You should use it."

He slowed down briefly, looking over his shoulder at me. "Mom says if you wanna be polite, you hafta call people their last names. I didn't wanna be rude. And your last name is really long." He flushed, looking down towards the floor. I felt embarrassed to say the least. Here I was, having no trouble calling him Kyouya, and being rude all along.

"I'm sorry, Hibari. I didn't mean to be rude..."

"Nah. It's okay. I like you, so you can call me Kyouya."

I paused in my thoughts, staring up at him. His cheeks were dark again, and his cobalt gaze fluttered back to the floor. I grinned, jumping up to wrap my arms around his neck and knocking him down on the floor. "Haha, I like you too! Hey, Hey, Kyouya! Do you think we're gonna be best friends? Like our Mommy's were?"

I still had my face pressed into his shoulder, beaming ear to ear. He was completely rigid, trembling slightly. "Sure we could..." He wrapped his arms around me and sat up slowly, helping me up. "But first, I gotta show you the garden. C'mon!" He took a step back from me, a small but sure smile playing at his lips. He took my hand again, this time allowing me momentum to run beside him down the pine scented halls.

Our footsteps pounded against the floorboards, creaking as we moved. After a few twists and turns and some clumsy tripping over the floor polish, we were arriving at a set of large glass doors. Kyouya let out a grunt of satisfaction, storming ahead again as we neared his target. "It's just through those doors, but we have to make sure that Ms. Chiyo-"

Suddenly the doors flew open, and an elderly woman, silhouetted by the greenhouse light filtering into the room, stood in the doorway, glaring at Kyouya. "I don't suppose you plan on romping through my gardens again, young master Hibari?"

"Ah!"

He suddenly stopped, skidding in his socks. Of course, this made me trip over his heels and hit his back, making me fall on top of him. I heard a loud smack as his face bounced off of the floor from the impact, making me smack my chin off of his head as well. It took me a few seconds to get myself together from the shock of what had happened. I then realized that I was still on him, and jumped off quickly, bowing profusely to emphasize my apologies.

"Kyouya, I'm really, really sorry! Are you okay? I didn't mean to fall on you, honest!"

The longer he remained on the ground, the greater the fear that was slowly rising within my chest grew. It seemed the elder woman was having the same feelings as I, because she suddenly swooped down on him, shaking his shoulder.

"Young master Hibari, get up."

I felt a rush of relief wash over me as he groaned and slowly came to a sitting position, with the help of the old woman, of course. I knelt next to him, tears blurring my vision and burning my strained throat. I ducked my head to look at his face, hidden by his hair, when a sudden flash of crimson caught my eye.

It was all over the floor, and a mass of it was flooding down his chin and his clean white shirt.

There was only one logical conclusion that had crossed my mind in that moment.

"OMIGOD I KILLED HIM!"

If I hadn't been too focused on finding Mrs. Hibari and screaming, I would have caught the glare from the old woman and the comment that questioned my intelligence. I spun around the winding corridors until I crashed into someone's arms, who in turn swung me up, cradling me into their unusually squishy chest.

"Tomoe! What's the matter? Are you hurt?"

I raised my head to look into Mrs. Hibari's eyes. "Mrs. Hibari, I made him bleed, I made Kyouya bleed and I killed him, I killed him dead! I'm sorry! I'm sorry-"

"Mom. My nose is bleeding."

My sobs and tears caught in my aching throat, and it took me a second before I discovered that I was capable of peeling my face off of her blouse. A stubby arm was held under the blood flow, trying to slow it. Now that I was looking at him properly, the flow wasn't that great, and I had exaggerated everything. I felt utterly ridiculous.

Mrs. Hibari's chest shook with laughter. "Is this what you meant by bleeding Tomoe? It's just a nose bleed. Kyouya has a sensitive nose, he gets them often. Kyouya, come here." She knelt, setting me on the floor and scooping him up, lifting his shirt to pinch it over his nose. "Tilt your head back, sweetie. That's it, good boy. Let's get you in the bath, shall we? You come too, Tomoe. You look like you could use it."

* * *

The bathroom was more like a hot spring, as it was large, and contained a stone in-ground tub that bubbled over from the heat. Mrs. Hibari called Ms. Chiyo in to help undress Kyouya, and get his pressed white cottons in bleach, while she helped me slip out of my outfit. Kyouya's pudgy feet slapped thickly against the stone floor as he jumped in to the hot water, resurfacing and yelping about the heat moments later. Mrs. Hibari leaned over the edge and plucked him out, carefully setting him back in so that he could adjust. I could only stare at the two in wonder.

Mrs. Hibari said that she wasn't home often, but the way she treated Kyouya when she was would have told someone otherwise. She doted on him, with a clear love that shone when she looked at him. It reminded me of how my mother used to look at me, on those warm summer days before the cancer set in. I felt the grief in my heart swell, and looked away from the two to catch my breath.

Mrs. Hibari turned around, smiling, motioning for me to follow her to the edge of the pond. I followed quietly, head bowed. She picked me up and set me down slowly. The warmth of the water was relaxing, and allowed me to forget about my mother for the time being. Once my feet touched the shallow end of the waters, I looked out and watched as Kyouya swam around in the deeper end, looking very much like a shark, with his mass of black hair and cobalt eyes flaring dangerously. He suddenly turned, focusing on me.

"I'm gonna bite you!"

I screamed and tried to avoid him as he honed in on me in no time. Mrs. Hibari snatched me up, laughing. "Now, now, Kyouya. Leave Tomoe alone. Unless you want to answer to the momma shark!" Kyouya shrunk back immediately, paddling as far away as he could from the woman who was flailing her arms about, snapping her jaws. Mrs. Hibari laughed, looking at her son for a moment before snapping her fingers. "I think I'll take a bath myself! I can't let you two have all the fun, can I?"

How different they were, I wondered, resting my chin on Mrs. Hibari's knee while she sat back in the water, scrubbing my head with a nice shampoo that smelled like watermelon. Kyouya continued to clumsily wipe at his face with a wash cloth, complaining about the blood that he couldn't seem to get off.

"I won't lie; it will be hard living without your mother, Tomoe. She and I have known each other since we were little girls. I think we may have been the same age as you and Kyouya."

I smiled, watching the silly boy splash about. "I know. Mommy told me before. She said you had sleep-overs and parties and played all the time. It sounded like a lot of fun."

She laughed. "You're right. It was fun. So much fun... And now you and Kyouya can play just like we did in those days. I know you two will be great friends."

Kyouya's eyes flickered in our direction, and he swam over to where we were, staring up at me expectantly. I smiled, nodding. "Yeah! We already said we'd be like Mrs. Hibari and Mommy, we'll play all the time!"

Mrs. Hibari sighed, touching her fingers to her cheek, a dreamy look clouding over her eyes. "My, My. The difference between you two is that you're a boy and girl. You never know. You two may fall in love one day, and go down a path completely different from Kaede and I."

"No way! Dad says girls have cooties and that boys who fall in love are like herbivores who fall to the carnivores," Kyouya said, nodding his head and folding his arms, his tone final.

Mrs. Hibari didn't say anything for a moment, before she deadpanned at her child. "Kyouya, you are never allowed to be alone with your father ever again. Am I clear on that?" She shook her head, grabbing his before he could run off so that she could scrub his hair with the same stuff she used on mine.

She muttered under her breath, "Pfft, I guess that makes your dad the biggest _herbivore_ there is. Unless there's something he's not telling me."

* * *

Within the next few days, Mrs. Hibari had to return to work, doing so with a tearful goodbye as Kyouya and I clung to her legs, begging her not to leave. She promised that she would call every chance she could, so that we could talk. But even then, her phone calls were rare. So Kyouya and I were free to go about as we pleased.

In a few weeks, I was enrolled in Namimori elementary school, to where Kyouya and I would be walked by Ms. Chiyo, in an awkward, scarred silly silence. In later years I would come to learn more about Ms. Chiyo, and grew very fond of her, up until the day she passed. In this moment, however, I was too afraid to be left alone with her, and was thankful that Kyouya was there to hold my hand.

These next few years without my mother, I had thought, would be difficult to endure, indeed. I was fortunate for my situation, however. Most kids would have been put into foster care or thrown into an orphanage. I was left with caring people, who seemed more than happy to have me in their family.

I looked up at Kyouya's grumbling face while he kicked stones and was chastised by Ms. Chiyo, and thought to myself,_ Kyouya promised he'd play with me to fill in for Mommy. And if it's him, I think... I'll be okay__. _

Kyouya flicked my nose and told me to stop smiling, thinking I was making fun of him for getting in trouble. I would fight an ever larger smile, and let him think that was what it was. For now, anyway.


End file.
